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Dolphins release 2008 starting linebacker Matt Roth

Linebacker Matt Roth’s bizarre season just came to an abrupt and unceremonious end.

The Dolphins released Roth on Tuesday, ending a season which began with a mysterious groin injury that sidelined him during training camp and the season’s first six weeks.

In the four games since his Nov. 1 return at the New York Jets, Roth has four tackles in limited action.

To replace Roth and nose tackle Jason Ferguson, who was placed on the injured-reserve list Monday, the Dolphins signed cornerback Evan Oglesby and defensive end Ikaika Alma-Francis, according to the team.

The team also announced the release of safety Nate Ness, who was promoted from the practice squad last week when the team placed running back Ronnie Brown on IR. The Dolphins still have one spot open on the 53-man roster.

Roth, 27, is in the fifth and final year of his rookie contract. Instead of earning an extension, Roth will be looking for a new team with six games remaining this season.

Despite the move, the team still owes Roth the balance of his $700,000 base salary.

The Dolphins roster now has just nine players drafted prior to the arrival of Bill Parcells and Jeff Ireland. Just 17 players on the roster overall were Dolphins prior to Parcells’ arrival.

Roth played only 14 snaps, but number of them caught the eye of Sparano.

“He was really impressive in some of those plays,” he said. “Not all of them, but some of them.”

Roth had just one tackle, but at 275 pounds offered a physical presence no other Dolphins’ outside linebacker can match.

Roth was listed behind Jason Taylor on the team’s depth chart at outside linebacker on the strong side.

When the team signed Taylor in May, he was expected to come in and provide a pass-rushing presence opposite Joey Porter, who lines up on the weak side near the left tackle. Roth, meanwhile, was to handle more run-stopping duties because of his size and strength.

But Roth showed up at training camp with a mysterious groin injury and failed the team’s conditioning run.

Roth did have off-season surgery to repair his groin, but had participated in the team’s off-season program, OTAs and mini-camp.

This time, Roth didn’t recover in time for the season, forcing the team to place him on the non-football injury list, which required him to sit out the season’s first six weeks.